Allow for the second year
At an assumed 5% cost increase, year-two costs are £9,702. Average annual cost over the term is £9,471.
For grounds-maintenance contractors
A contract can keep you busy.
Will the price cover the work?
Check for omitted tasks, then turn your labour, equipment and travel costs into an annual price for your chosen margin. See how rising costs in year two change the calculation.
No account or email address needed to view the example.
The real opportunity behind the example
Totnes Cemetery & Castle Meadow
Initial term: April 2027–March 2029. The council invites quotes by 28 October 2026, 5pm UK time and asks for two local organisation references.
Read the council's free noticetotnestowncouncil.gov.uk
Independent of the council. Source checked 1 October 2026; check the current notice before acting.
Useful to the contractor and the buyer
Make the offer easier to assess.
A free preparation guide, independent of the council. It does not replace the official documents or decide whether you qualify.
| The buyer needs to understand | Evidence you prepare | If something is unclear |
|---|---|---|
| What work your price covers | Scope, requested itemisation and explicit exclusions | Record the unresolved requirement; check it with the official source. |
| How you can deliver the work | Actual capacity, equipment and scheduling flexibility | Do not turn an uncertain capability into a promise. |
| How your claims can be checked | The references and supporting evidence requested | Confirm permission before sharing other people's contact details. |
Review the council's invitation and documents. Submit your own quote directly through its official route. You do not need to buy our tool to participate.
See the calculation before deciding
One example. Every assumption visible.
These figures are invented to demonstrate the method. The full tool uses your own estimates. All amounts below exclude VAT.
Build the annual cost
Fictional inputs- 17 cemetery cuts × 8 crew-hours
- 136 hours
- Other annual work
- 60 hours
- 196 hours × £25 loaded labour cost
- £4,900
- Travel and transport
- £900
- Equipment and maintenance
- £1,200
- Materials and disposal
- £600
- Allocated overhead
- £800
- Base annual cost
- £8,400
- 10% cost reserve
- £840
- Year-one cost including reserve
- £9,240
Crew-hours count everyone: two people working three hours is six crew-hours. Include the value of your own labour.
Choose margin, not markup
A 20% margin means costs use 80% of the selling price. Divide £9,471 by 0.80 to get £11,838.75 a year.
Check your own quote
A flat £12,000 annual quote would leave £5,058 across two years under these assumptions: a 21.1% operating margin before tax and unmodelled costs.
What if labour takes 20% longer?
Keeping the other example assumptions fixed raises the required annual price to £13,219.94 — £1,381.19 more. This is a stress scenario, not a forecast.
The judgment stays with you.
The calculator cannot measure the site, estimate your team's speed or predict a winning price. Include all work in the specification and review your cash needs separately.
The check beyond the arithmetic
What might your estimate leave out?
Use the source checklist to account for separate tasks before you combine their costs. These are selected Totnes prompts, not the full specification.
| Work to account for | Source prompt | Your estimating decision |
|---|---|---|
| Cemetery mowing | 17 cuts annually · page 1 | Include trimming around obstacles in crew time. |
| Wild-area maintenance | Itemised annual work · page 2 | Record separately, including clearance. |
| Paths, banks and seasonal clearance | Upkeep duties · page 2 | Estimate visits instead of treating upkeep as free. |
| Meadow and hedge work | Separate tasks · page 2 | Allow for the correct areas and access. |
Check the original council specification (PDF, 2 pages). Review the maps and any amendments too.
The proposed pilot product
Your numbers.
A reusable costing tool.
A browser-based costing tool and task worksheet for checking a two-year, fixed-price grounds contract. The first source checklist covers Totnes.
- Editable labour, travel, equipment, materials and overhead costs
- Your reserve, target margin and year-two cost assumption
- A comparison against your proposed flat annual quote
- A source-linked worksheet to check for omitted tasks
- Named estimates you can save locally and reopen
- A stress check showing the effect of 20% more labour time
- Print or save your completed calculation as a PDF
The prototype is a single HTML file that opens in a browser. Estimate files save separately as JSON. No subscription or upload of your costing figures is needed. Device compatibility checks are still in progress.
Before you use it
A clear scope.
Why pay when the tender documents are free?
The notice and source documents remain free. The proposed paid product is the reusable costing calculator and checklist. If your current estimating sheet already does this well, you may not need it.
Does this tell me whether I will win?
No. It calculates a price from your cost assumptions and target margin. It does not predict competitors' prices, establish eligibility or guarantee an award.
What would happen after a purchase?
The planned bundle is one browser calculator (.html), opening and save/load instructions (.txt), and the source checklist inside the calculator. A receipt and download page will provide access. Payment and automatic delivery are not active in this preview.
Can I save and revise a job estimate?
The prototype lets you name an estimate and save a JSON file on your device. Open the calculator again and load that file to resume editing. Closing the page without saving loses your edits. Reuse the cost model for similar two-year, fixed-price work; the Totnes checklist does not establish another contract’s scope.
What help and source updates are included?
You can contact the product inbox about access, calculation bugs and source corrections. Personalised bid preparation and ongoing tender monitoring are outside this product. The checklist is a dated snapshot; check the council for changes before submitting. Final support and refund terms will be shown before sales open.
How is AI used?
AI assists the source research, writing and development. The calculator uses explicit arithmetic formulas, not generated price predictions. Source facts are linked for you to verify.
Is my costing information collected?
The calculator processes your estimates in your browser without uploading or automatically saving them. Emailing us sends the contact details and message you choose to include. Website and email hosting can process connection and delivery data; the full privacy notice will identify the operator and services before public launch. We have not added advertising trackers or email-capture forms.
Where can I check the requirements?
Read the council's invitation and maps and the original maintenance specification. Check for amendments and assess the sites before pricing. Our brief checklist is not a substitute for those documents.
About Grounds Bid Check
A focused tool, at an early stage.
Grounds Bid Check is an independent digital-product pilot for grounds-maintenance contractors. The aim is to make a cost-and-margin decision easier to inspect. It is not a council service or a tender-submission service.
The product is being evaluated. Seller identity and purchase terms will be completed before sales open.
Questions or corrections?
You can ask for clarification or flag a source error by replying to this address.